I'm totally dying to see Enders Game, I loved those books. Well, except for the fourth one. But I've heard it's only OK, and babysitters are such an expensive pain in the ass that I may wait for TV. Let me know if it's worth seeing in the theater!

Anyway, I came here to say that I can't fucking believe no one recommended American Psycho to me! That movie was amazing, and hilarious, and thought provoking, and unnervingly September 10.

Just a taste if you've never seen it:

[img]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vzN3qO-qc8U[/img

"4 cylinder Camaro=communism" El Presidente

"You can smoke salmon but it's not quite the same as smoking heroin." nanuq

American Psycho is one of my favorite dark comedies. I'm surprised no one has mentioned it here before (though know it's pretty unseen in general, polite society).

After hearing some word on Ender's Game, probably going to wait until it's on video as well. Might go see The Counselor instead.

Saw "12 Years A Slave" today. Still trying to figure out how I feel about it but it's been something I've been thinking about since I left my seat at the theatre this afternoon. That's probably a good sign.

"Redemption" is a better-than-usual Jason Statham film, with less action and more 'character', if that's your bag.

If you have Netflix, "Butter" was a nice indie comedy, "Woody Allen: A Documentary" was well-done and, if you want to shift into tv, you really can't beat "Louie" for pathos, humor, and humanity.

"If you were born near someplace called "The Erg of ____" you lost the lottery." - Kurt the Wise

"If you're stupid, the whole world is a dangerous place." - friendlyskies

friendlyskies wrote:I'm totally dying to see Enders Game, I loved those books. Well, except for the fourth one. But I've heard it's only OK, and babysitters are such an expensive pain in the ass that I may wait for TV. Let me know if it's worth seeing in the theater!

Anyway, I came here to say that I can't fucking believe no one recommended American Psycho to me! That movie was amazing, and hilarious, and thought provoking, and unnervingly September 10.

So, after having it recommended by two guides (both Mayan) while touring the Yucatán in June, I *finally* watched Apocalypto. (I guess I'd avoided it because Mel Gibson is kind of a douchebag, although I did enjoy sneaking into his pool when I was living in Dominical, Costa Rica.) And, all the negative reviewers are correct - the plot is simple as corn and beans, the plot holes are bigger than the Gran Cenote, about 2/3 of the movie is a chase scene (I don't really consider this a negative, but maybe you do), and the violence is gratuitous. I mean, it's not just a jaguar eating some guy's face offscreen, you get to see every gruesome bite, with chunks of bone and teeth showing and so forth. Come on. The bit where blood is spraying out of another guy's head wound, with his heart beat, reminded me of the Black Knight in Monty Python and the Holy Grail.

THAT SAID.

It was a fucking cool movie! I've been reading a lot of pre-Columbian history lately, so it's fresh. Since the Mayan empire collapsed about a century before the Spanish arrived (the Mayans still had their cities, towns, culture, and language, just the federal government stopped working), and they had been dealing with smallpox et al for a decade by the time the Spanish made first contact (a 30% to 60% loss in population over ten years, which fucked up their society even more), plus the Spanish burned all their books, a lot of this stuff is theoretical. And Gibson, unsurprisingly, took the goriest version of events and splattered it all over the big screen.

So, keeping in mind that there's a kinder and gentler version of Mayan history that has some evidence backing it up too, if you subscribe to Gibson's choice of interpretations, oh my Tlaloc, the attention to detail is perfect. The clothing - spot fucking on. The way the different classes dressed and acted - spot fucking on. The way the cities looked before the jungles took them and clueless Ivy League rich kids rebuilt them for tourists - spot fucking on. The religious bullshit - perfect. The scene where the captives enter the city (Uxmal?) is goddamned flawless and amazing and worth the price of a rental imho. Basically, Apocalypto is an incredibly detailed history lesson built around a long-ass chase scene.

ANYWAY. If you get a chance, check it out. It's in Mayan - the whole movie - with subtitles, so it's not for everyone. I thought that was super cool. And the acting is really good, at least for the main players! Like, total Hollywood quality, if you don't mind overwrought villains - Gibson's a solid, experienced, A++ actor, despite the whole anti-semitism thing, and I guess he knows how to pull really ace performances from people who have probably never been in a big budget, action-adventure film. The budget must have been outrageous - there is very little CGI compared to similar flicks. Recommended.

"4 cylinder Camaro=communism" El Presidente

"You can smoke salmon but it's not quite the same as smoking heroin." nanuq

OUT OF THE FURNACE -a great movie.Christian Bale, Woody Harrelson, Casey Affleck (my favorite) , Forest Whitaker, Willem Dafoe, and Sam Shepard!!Whats not to love?!Great characters, a great story!Apologies for not being able to post photos.Whatever.

Emphatically not for everyone - it's a mediocre B-movie and Arnold Schwarzenegger vehicle dated (very dated) to 1987, vaguely apocalyptic scifi packed with painfully cheesy one liners. That said, of all the "Reality TV" movies - Truman Show, Hunger Games, etc - this one rings the truest. Richard Dawson is the shining diamond in the shitpile, he makes the whole thing work. Fabulously. 2/4 stars for most people, 3.5/4 for genre fans like me.

"4 cylinder Camaro=communism" El Presidente

"You can smoke salmon but it's not quite the same as smoking heroin." nanuq

Emphatically not for everyone - it's a mediocre B-movie and Arnold Schwarzenegger vehicle dated (very dated) to 1987, vaguely apocalyptic scifi packed with painfully cheesy one liners. That said, of all the "Reality TV" movies - Truman Show, Hunger Games, etc - this one rings the truest. Richard Dawson is the shining diamond in the shitpile, he makes the whole thing work. Fabulously. 2/4 stars for most people, 3.5/4 for genre fans like me.

Who is online

Please note that the topics discussed, opinions expressed and/or information provided in this forum are those of fellow forum participants only. Neither Robert Young Pelton, nor ComeBackAlive.com Inc., nor Ingle International Inc., nor any other person or entity involved in the creation or maintenance of this site, takes any responsibility or provides any endorsement for the topics discussed, opinions expressed or information provided in this forum. Any advice or information taken from this forum is entirely at your own risk.